


Snug As A Bug

by Toxic_clockwork



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, College AU, F/F, My First Fanfic, Not Canon Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Swearing, distortion being like that, mild anxiety, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:22:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25534303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toxic_clockwork/pseuds/Toxic_clockwork
Summary: What if Annabelle and Jane knew each other before they got bugged?
Relationships: Annabelle Cane/Jane Prentiss
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> okay so fair warning I’ve never really written a long form fiction piece other than something like 5 years ago. I’m open to constructive criticism! Also before anyone says anything, I know they never met in canon but this idea is so cute in my head that I have to do it. And through timeline stuff this doesn't work in canon and I really don't want to do the mental gymnastics to figure out how that will work. If characters could fit into the setting I've used them so we don't have to deal with too many random characters. Fun Fact: I've never gone to uni so this is all messed, it’s fine (but I did take a college anatomy class in high school).

The end of the summer months were nearing and the air held a comfortable warm. Still quite hot but holding a chill enough to warrant some sort of cover up if you were so inclined. The trees weren’t changing colors yet, late August was a bit too early for that, but if you know what to look for you could feel the seasons change.

And the fact that the Universities were back in session also added into the feeling of the seasons change. The overall culture change from the excitement of adventures blooming through summer eventually burning into embers fueling the reparative motions of school.

Jane anxiously picked at the buttons on her flannel cuff, waiting for the lecture to start. Her bangs continue to flood her vision no matter how many times she tucks it behind her ear.

Her clanky old laptop sat whirring on the desk, a bit too loud for comfort but it's all she had. A word doc was open ready for hastily typed notes and some scrap paper set to the side for random scribbles that might help for later.

She really just wanted to scribble some drawings of her classmates. Internally she knows it's kinda creepy to watch people and draw them without permission, but does she really want to ask?

How weird would it be to have a random girl walk up to you during the first weeks of class and ask to draw you, especially not in an art school? So she decided it would be the easiest just to draw little sketches of the interesting folks in class. She found it helped her focus in the long run, focusing on things other than just the words being spoken kept her grounded.

As the hall filled with students Jane’s scribbled doodles on her hand, little ants trailing down from her fingers, little fuzzy smiling moths, and small notes to remember later. Things about class logins or a reminder to stop by the uni bookstore to check out the stock.

Overall the chatter between students was minimal, one of the first classes for primarily freshmen makes it seem fit for the room. No one really knows each other yet, Jane appreciates being on the same page of social isolation as everyone else. Everyone stayed away from everyone else equally, not just her. That put her mind at ease.

The room itself wasn’t too packed, maybe 30 to 35 students were in the room. The hall seemed too large for this many people, it seems like if Jane dropped a pencil it would have echoed even with everyone in the room.

The professor shuffled in the room only a few minutes after the class was slated to begin. He seemed put together, a nice dress shirt and a dark pair of slacks. The tie he wore was funky enough to show a bit of personality even before he spoke.

“Hello class,” he spoke to the slightly chatting class, “Welcome to the Introduction to Human Anatomy and Physiology. I’m going to be your professor for this semester,” his voice travels the room, taking a piece of chalk he writes on the board ‘ _ Dr. Elliot Bio 101 _ ’.

Jane quickly began to type, setting a header to her document and trying to hang on Dr.Elliot’s each word. He spoke about the syllabus being at the end of each row, she could get it later, a general overview of the structure of the class and beginning unit project.

“Now when you grab your syllabus there will be a rubric and an overview of the project attached to it. Check the list on the door to see who your assigned partner is,” a groan escaped from different parts of the room. Jane gave a deep sigh and brought a hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose. 

“Make sure you email your partner or try to find them after class.” It sounded more like a suggestion than a demand. Maybe Jane could just do it herself, maybe she got a trash partner and would just be able to do it all.

The lecture from then on was more introductions, getting connected to the online aspects of the class along with a quick ice breaking conversation. Jane drifted from her keyboard and began to sketch the people in front of her.

A gothic looking guy sat a few rows in front of her, she could barely make out a tattoo creeping up at the base of his neck. He appeared to be reading something, paying as little attention to Dr.Elliot as she was. 

A lady with shoulder length coiling hair sat a good amount of seats to her left, she was wearing a lot more formal attire than most of the students in the room. A tall blond fellow sat oddly close to her, his clothing was much more eccentric than the lady’s.

Many different portraits decorated the scratch pad until the end of the lecture. Dr. Elliot dismissed the class and most of the students began to collect their clutter. 

Jane shut down her laptop and slid into her side bag and shoved the doodles in along with it haphazardly. She wasn’t necessarily in a rush for her next class but she really didn't want to be left alone.

With a huff she stood up, she straightened her bag and tightened her ponytail. She made her way out of the lecture hall, swiping up a syllabus as she passed. It was 2 hefty stacks of paper held together with a paperclip. She tumbled through the rubric before rolling her eyes and shoving it in her bag as well.

A clump of students were grouped around the door flipping through a stack of paper. They weren’t blocking the door too much, but Jane wasn’t too keen on pushing through them. She picked at the strap of her bag and the crowd slowly diminished to a point where she could shimmy herself into seeing the list.

Looking over a woman’s shoulder Jane scanned over the list. The lady’s finger drifted over the names, her nails were painted a slate and decorated with a lilac gradient. She flipped the page and stopped her scanning, keeping her finger over two names.

‘ _ Jane Prentiss - Annabelle Cane’  _ She gave a hum, taking out her phone to take a picture of the two names. Looking at her phone she finally noticed Jane in her space, the lady gave a quick smile. 

“Oh sorry, let me get out of your way!” Her voice was almost too cheery for 11 am. Her short buzzed bleached hair contrasted from her dark skin, her outfit had the feeling of being entirely thrifted and it looked great on her. A deep cranberry skirt matched her bright makeup. She took a few steps away from the list, seemingly leaving the building.

“Oh-uh no you’re okay,” Jane stammered out following the lady jesturing her hand out to her, “I’m Jane, Jane Prentiss and I think we’re partners? I assume you’re Annabelle?” She gives an anxious grin. She tried so hard to try not to stumble over her words.

“Well, you assume correctly I’m Annabelle.” She smiles bright, taking Jane’s hand in a firm grasp and giving it a shake, “fancy meeting you!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I’m glad your back and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

The two ladies made their way to the library on campus, they kept relatively quiet, only a few words passed between them. Jane trailed a few steps behind Annabelle but keeping her pace so not to fall too far behind.

The sidewalks were alive with students trying to find their places. Some sat in the grassy patches with a group of friends while some raced down the path as if they were on fire.

“So…” Annabelle tried to break the silence of their strole, “When’s your next class? How much time have we got to get this started?”she asked, glancing over her shoulder. She gestured her head trying to coax Jane to walk next to her.

“Oh! Uh, my next class is at three, so we can try to get some stuff done,” she doesn’t fully stand next to Annabelle but she does close the space a little bit. Annabelle doesn’t try to push her, she was content with Jane at least trying.

“Perfect, we have about three hours to get working,” She smiles as they fall into silence again. The walk from the lecture hall to the library wasn’t too far but it was enough to leave your feet sore if your shoes weren’t comfortable. That being said it’s enough of a walk for a silence to seem a bit awkward.

Annabelle didn't want to seem rude or come off as cold, but that also kept her holding her tongue. The first chance to meet someone through college and maybe make a friend; she doesn’t want to mess it all up. Her personality has been described as macabre or generally off putting to some. This was a new start for her and she really doesn't want to sour it from the very beginning.

Jane held a tenseness in her shoulders as she picked at the strap of her bag. Annabelle could see her glancing around the path from the corner of her eyes. She seemed to be watching everywhere else but the path in front of her, gauging her surroundings. The two of them were both an anxious mess, too caught up in their own minds to fully try to talk.

The chatter of other students around made the silence deafening, Annabelle even felt a crawling on the back of her neck. The two of them didn’t even know each other and she was already feeling off. At that moment she decided that her goal for this project was to become friends with her partner, no matter how tough that would be.

Annabelle quickened her pace as the two of them closed in on the library door. She opened it with a flourish, gesturing for Jane to head in. 

“T-thank you,” Jane ducked her head out of habit and Annabelle followed after. 

The library was nice, the air conditioning was on full blast compared to the warm day. A small cafe was to the left of where you entered and on the right was a staircase with labeling for each of the floors. The general space was tables and shelves lining the walls. Some isles of shelves were to the back but this floor seemed more like a library-esk hangout. That seemed to calm some of the tension in Jane.

“Wanna grab one?” Annabelle looked over to the empty tables. Jane fished out the packet from her bag with a nod. Walking over and taking one of the corner tables she sets up her space. Annabelle sat across from her taking her own things out of her bag. The rubric, some highlighters and her own laptop with the lid was decorated with stickers. 

“Alright so,” Jane says flipping through the papers, skimming them, “where do we start?” She looks up with a quizzical look in her eyes. From there the two of them discuss the rubric and their course of action. Annabelle color coded her copy while Jane doodled in the margins randomly jotting down a note or two.

From a list of illnesses and disorders they are tasked with picking one and listing how it affects the body, the different systems, organs, etc. normal medical stuff. From there they begin their research to their project.

The silence was comfortable now as the two clicked their keyboards, Jane looked for medical journals while Annabelle looked for some books that the library could be holding.

“Are we just not gonna talk about it?” Annabelle asked flatly looking from her laptop at Jane. A small pinch of nerve washed over Jane’s face. Annabelle quickly picks up her thought. “Do you want anything from the cafe? I know I haven't stopped thinking about it since I saw it.”

“Oh, I-I’m fine thank you, through, Annabelle.” A small grin pricked her lips as the anxiousness faded from her stomach. Internally Jane kicked herself for being so stand-offish and ‘weird’ in her own words.

“You sure? I can cover it for you,” She asked again, rising from her seat grabbing her wallet from her bag. “and you can call me Annie.” her warm smile was decorated by her cranberry red lipstick.

“I’m sure, Annie,” Jane smiled, saying the nickname Jane through it fit her more than her actual name. “I’m not too much of a fan of expensive coffee or dry pastries.” She chuckled, though it was a bit dry. Annie’s face twisted in disbelief.

“Oh no, now I’m getting you something. This chain is good trust me.” She was on her way to the stand before Jane could even stop her. All she could do is roll her eyes, she didn’t want to outright tell her no. Jane took this time to make a little doodle on the side of her notebook. 

Annabelle wasn’t short but maybe half an inch under Jane, but next to the coffee stand she seemed much shorter than she actually was. Jane sketched her leaning up against the tall counter, she seemed to pop herself onto her tiptoes slightly. Her aesthetic made it look like she was meant to be in a library ordering coffee, it all seemed so picturesque.

Ordering coffee was something Annabelle always liked to do when she first met someone; you can tell a lot about someone by the way they take their coffee. She ordered herself her regular, a hazelnut macchiato with an extra shot of espresso. It took her a moment to guess Jane’s order but she eventually settled on an iced caramel latte. Wanting to splurge a bit, she also ordered a raspberry scone for them to share.

She putzed around, waiting for the drinks to be done. Glancing over she saw Jane hard at work in her notebook. She smiled looking around the main center of the library. The smell of coffee filled the room with its enchanting scent.

She kept checking over on Jane, her posture drained of its ridgedness. Annie didn’t want to try to question her on it, but she saw it as a good step. Even if the whole ‘friend idea’ falls through she seems to be hard working, and for a research project, it would be helpful if she didn't set the bridge ablaze.

The finished drinks were pushed towards Annabelle with the wrapped scone. She paid and with a thank you she turned back to the table, balancing the drinks the best she could.

“Here we are,” Annie placed the drinks down and unwrapped the scone. Jane quickly flipped the notebook to a new page, not trying to draw too much attention to it.

“Iced caramel for you and hazelnut for me, I really recommend you try some of the scone,” She explained taking her seat and cradling her drink, “I promise you your ‘dry pastry’ fear will get squished right now,” she punctuated with taking a drink of her coffee and a side eye.

Jane finally gave up a laugh, letting down her guard, as she grabbed the drink and gave it a sip. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you for reading! I’m really excited to work with these characters and bring more into the story.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi and welcome back and I hope you enjoy the chapter! I know its only the beginning of the fic still but thank you for reading, writing this is really cathartic and having folks like it makes me feel really good.

Jane honestly really liked the scone, she didn’t want to admit it but she enjoyed it. Annabelle only picked at it but Jane seemed to have eaten most of it without a second thought. They asked each other questions about the project, casually talking about ideas. Jane even cracked a joke or two to Annie’s surprise.

They worked in casual conversation, taking sips from their coffees in between research talk and personal. Annabelle was going for a physiology degree while Jane was going for entomology.

A smirk painted itself across Annie’s face when she went to reach for a piece of pastry but the wrapper was empty.

“Have your fears been quelled?” Annie didn’t even look away from her screen but Jane could feel the amusement in her voice. “Was the scone suitable for your liking m’lady?” She gave a noncommittal hum and a shrug trying to get back to her research.

“That’s not a proper answer,” she geared, poking Jane’s foot with her own. “Just admit you were wrong and it will be all good,”

“I’m not wrong when I say I don’t like dry pastries,” Jane jokingly argues with a mock certainty on her face. Annabelle gave her a look, eyebrows raised as if to ‘okay but?’ all over it. “But this did exceed my expectations.” She relents with a huff .

“Ha ha!” Annabelle laughs triumphantly. She gains a small shush from the staff around but doesn’t really pay it much mind. All Jane could do was roll her eyes and try to work, but Annie continued.

“Alright so now when I say, ‘ _ Hey Jane! We should go get coffee. I know a good place! _ ’” She tried to pitch her voice slightly for emphasis, “You can’t even deny it because you actually my choice in cafes!” Annie talked with her hands adding to the flourish. A few of the other students in the library begin to look over with confused glances.

“Oh my god Annie shh-” Jane reaches over the table with a giggle trying to quiet her but got cut off.

“Next you’re gonna tell me that you don’t like butterscotch or something daft like that because you’ve ‘ _ never had it _ ’!” Jane straightens herself after that quip.

“Okay now, don’t disrespect my love for butterscotch like that!” She can’t help but laugh through the phrase, “I for one would kill for some butterscotch at any time of day!”

“So you’re perfectly fine with grandma candy but not one hell of a good scone?” Annabelle prodds folding her hands under her chin.

“Woah!” Jane gasped with her hand to her chest, “How dare you insult the absolute legacy of butterscotch!” She stressed the ‘legacy’ without missing a beat Jane pulled out some yellow wrapped candies from her flannel pocket.

Annabelle brakes, finally feeling the absurdity of the conversation at hand. Whatever anatomy mumbo jumbo they planned to get done just went out the window. Jane just pulled out a handful of butterscotch candies from her pocket like nothing happened.

Her laugh was hearty and short but in quick succession. It was the kind of laugh that could make someone in the worst moods at least crack a smile. Jane was already snickering so when she heard Annabelle’s laugh she went hysterical.

Any of the other students in the library that tried to not pay attention to the two of them couldn’t now. Their laughter caused a good amount of hushes across the room but they didn't really hear them. Each other laugh fueled the others, if Annabelle was finally calming down Jane would hiccup and start the cycle all over again.

Jane tried to calm herself down, she really did, out of the corner of her eye she could see the staff whispering to each other and glancing their way. But this was this first good laugh she has had in awhile, she was going to enjoy it. That started to fade when one of the librarians made their way over to their table.

“Excuse me ladies?” The librarian asked lightly on their approach. The two tried to calm down their little ruckus but over that failed a few minutes ago. “I’m sorry ladies but you’re going to have to quiet down or we’re going to have to ask you to leave.” 

“O-Oh we’re sorry,” Annie chucked out a response, “Just give us a moment and we’ll get out of your hair,” she tried to sound genuine but the laugh made if come off as slightly rude. The librarian took that well enough, they just turned and went back to the info desk around the corner.

Jane huffed out a small smile, she’d feel weird every time she’ll be in the library from now on but it seemed worth it. She quickly piled her things into her bag, taking a final drink from her coffee. She stood up waiting for Annabelle to pack up, an amused look on her face.

“What?” Annie asked, finally coming back to the reality of getting kicked out of the library. “You smiling at our shame, huh?”

“Kinda yeah, actually,” she admitted, “Come on we’ve got time to work on this later. We can find somewhere else to chill.” Jane hoped she didn’t over step. She wanted to hang out with Annabelle, her energy was infectious and she wanted to be around it more.

“Alright,” she shook her head with a smile shoving her things in her bag, “let’s get out of here.” She stood up, her drink in hand, and looked to Jane, “Lead the way captain,”

As they left they gave a small apologetic smile to the staff and wished goodbye to the air conditioning. Jane pushed open the door and was greeted by a wave of the still prevalent heat.

“Can we go back?” Annie asks walking into the heat from behind Jane. But they don’t, the two of them just walk. They looked like two perfectly normal college kids enjoying time in between classes. This time Jane didn’t trail too far behind, but she was a little bit. She always felt comfortable being in the back of a crowd but Annabelle didn’t really mind.

“Wanna take a seat?” Jane asked as they came up to a shaded patch of grass under a tree. Annie doesn’t even answer, she just tosses her bag into the shade and plops down. She puts her back against the tree and pats the ground next to her. Jane hesitates out of habit but takes the seat anyway.

The energy was light and Jane fell into it easily combating her nerves. She didn’t really know how to spark up conversation too well, but something piqued her interest.

“Do you know who that dude is?” She asks, not pointing in his direction but cocking her head to his direction. A fellow was standing a bit a way but he watched them. He was tall and lanky, blood curls poured from his head and his close were bright. She thinks he’s the dude that was creeping on that nicely dressed lady in anatomy.

“Michael? I’ve talked to him once or twice, oddly cryptic dude,” she shrugged, taking a drink from her cafe coffee, “he seems harmless nonetheless.” She waved at the staring man, he seemed to flinch like a trance was being broken. Michael waved back but quickly made his way down the path.

“He… does seem pretty odd,” Jane tries not to pay attention to him, but how he was staring at them, mainly Annabelle, made her feel off. With a sigh she tried to punch that uncomfortable feeling away and she pulled out her phone to check the time.

“Shit!” It didn’t feel like they had been chatting and generally hanging out for two and a half hours. But it seemed like they did. Jane hopped up brushing the dirt off her pants. “I gotta head out, I don't wanna be late to class.”

“Let me walk you there,” Annie hops up, fixing her skirt and slinging her bag over her shoulder. Without much of a though she takes Jane’s phone from her hand. Jane seems puzzled but doesn’t fight it.

With a few quick taps Annie passes Jane her phone back with an expectant look. “Ready to go?” She takes another sip of her coffee.

Jane looks at her phone screen. What’s on is a newly created contact page for  _ ‘Annie :)’ _ . She smiled warmly, putting the phone back in her pocket. She’s going to be thinking about what to text her during all of her next lecture but she didn’t really mind.

“Alrighty, I think it’s this way,” Jane leads the way

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for this chapter taking a bit longer than the last one but I’m finally back to work from the pandemic. Don’t be afraid to some to my tumblr is you wanna talk to me about the fic! @goldengodtier


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait on this one, I wanted to experiment and write a bit for Annabelle. I hope you enjoy!

The hall for English composition was much more packed than the anatomy lecture. Jane tried not to scratch a scab on the back of her neck as she looked for a hole in the crowd. It was much colder in the hall than the library or even in anatomy, it felt nice to be able to bundle into her flannel to fight off the chill.

Picking at her sleeves she sighed making her way through the aisle of students. Most rows were bookended with students so it was uncomfortable either way to get into a row. Jane kicked herself for not getting there earlier so she wouldn’t have to deal with this kind of mess.

She grabbed whatever paper that was set out when she scooted into a relatively empty row, she has enough room on both sides to be more than comfortable other than passing over a few folks to get there. She pulls out her phone before she even gets out anything from her bag. What to send caused her stomach to churn, she opened her images to see if anything caught her eyes. 

Texting was never her strong suit, overall talking to people wasn’t her strong suit either but that’s besides the point. Coming from how easily they were talking and laughing in the library to staring at her phone screen was a weird and quick switch.

After too much deliberation she finds a picture of her little worm on a string, somehow that struck a chord. The bright green worm was curled around a flower with edited hearts around it. Without giving herself time to regret it she sent the image with a courtesy text of ‘hey it’s Jane!’

Her stomach hiccuped like it did every time she tried to text someone, her brain flooded with anxiety and pride that she actually did it. Jane sat back watching the room fill up more and more with folks. She tried not to notice her being boxed in as she finally got out her laptop and sketch paper. The last classes doodle’s graphite starting to smear.

With a few clicks over her mechanical pencil she begins to try to fix them. Cleaning off the smudges coming from the dark fellow’s hair or cleaning up the formal lady’s curls. Looking over the doodle of the blonde man it gave her an odd chill. Michael just staring at Annabelle and herself seemed… uncomfortable. 

Yeah, Annie said she knew him, but she did say she only met him once or twice. You don’t just stare at someone you barely know without saying anything! Her skin crawled, she wanted to scribble out the drawing but it just a piece of paper, it can't hurt her, only really unnerving her. All she could really do was try to punch it back in her mind.

Jane begins to doodle Annie as best as she can from only just meeting her. Out of everything she tried to nail it was the glimmer she has in her eyes she really wanted to stick a pin on. They’re so bright even with their dark umber color. Jane let her mind drift from the class around her into her own world.

Having a hearty laugh like she just did was had never come easily, and it had been quite a bit since she’d done it. The last time she did was probably when she was still in secondary school. She felt young and awake again, she smiled at the buzz from her phone. The anxiety of having to respond to someone was caught by the fact of how nice she felt.

“Hey, excuse me?” A deep voice spooks her out of her head, “Do you mind if I sit here?” Jane almost jumped out of her skin when she looked to see who the voice was coming from. She quickly went to hide her sketches from anatomy so he wouldn’t see.

A relatively stocky goth man was standing at the edge of the isle, though his tough exterior he didn’t seem threatening. He was covered in expensive looking eye tattoos, they were wonderfully realistic. The piercings in his face tried to make it look like he has a rough exterior but he seemed much less threatening than Michael.

Either way she scuffled to put away the creeper drawing she had done under her laptop. He looked quizzically at the pages, he seemed to be inspecting them even though she really tried to hide them.

“Did you draw those?” He asked, giving himself a huff and shaking his head, he looked like he was trying to kick himself, “Of course you did, that was a daft question,” he rolled his eyes at himself. 

Jane was slightly startled, not because he was trying to start a conversation but on how casually he did it. Yeah she was just trying to pride herself in talking to Annie but that all just shattered. She stared kind of dumbfounded until his stare began to look concerned at her lack of words.

“Oh u-uh sorry, yeah,” she moved her bag from the chair next to her, “yeah to both, I guess.” The tall stranger plopped down in the seat next to her and fished into his own bag pulling out a dark bound sketchbook. He casually passed it to Jane.

“You can look through mine if I can see what you’ve done,” he raised his brows, his brow piercings really accentuate the action.

“Fine,” she rolls her eyes with a sigh pulling the scraps out from under her laptop, “I’m Jane by the way.” She introduced herself as she passed the papers.

“Gerard, it's a pleasure,” he grinned.

—————————————————————————

Annabelle felt like something was off when Jane left her, going into the ha. It wasn’t that something was gonna happen to Jane but everything began to feel  _ off _ . Her intuition was telling her to go home, she didn’t have any other classes today, but she felt like something would be a miss if she did.

She rolled her eyes at her own mental ramblings and began to walk away from the lecture hall, but the feeling only got worse. With each step her stomach felt like she was walking closer and closer to… something, she wasn’t sure if it was something bad or just something unknown.

There were other students walking around the campus so she was relatively safe. The sun was still bright in the sky, so there was no need to be worried. But the farther she walked on the path it seemed to become more and more scarce for people. The numbers of students thinned until one man stood in her way and his back was turned to her. 

Normally when she saw Michael it was from afar or he was just asking for directions across campus, but this felt much different. His blonde hair was still curling over his shoulders and his arms held at his sides. She must have been out of it because it seemed as if his shirt was moving. Something was off, oh so uncomfortably off. His hands even seemed… wrong.

She stood there for a moment, assessing how oddly the situation was. She was trying to plot out what was going to happen in her head, maybe an escape plan? It felt like she walked into an episode of the twilight zone. But she wasn’t. There were still some other students around, the wind was slowing softly, enough to feel harsh but still comforting. 

Annabelle wasn’t uncomfortable around Michael when they talked, but then normally it was under very different circumstances. Like, Annie didn’t feel like she was going to experience something utterly inhuman.

She tried to get herself out of her state, she really clawed to break out of it by forcing herself to answer the vibration from her phone. But all she could do was just stand there, Michael wasn’t even looking at her but that maybe added to the effect. Perhaps if she moved he would notice she was there.

All she could feel was almost like her brian was swimming like she was a bit tipsy. She stood tall and still but her brain felt like it would cause her to vomit at any second. Yet, she stood tall trying to keep herself from making a sound to give herself away.

When Annabelle heard the footsteps approaching her from behind she mentally tried to prefer herself for the worst even through her clogged mind. She didn’t dare close her eyes to brace for impact, just in case Michael would do something too. But the footsteps were soft, and the hand on her shoulder was even lighter.

The hand lightly gripped her shoulder and pulled her back, not trying to turn her but only trying to create distance. The weight on her began to lighten as she was pulled away. The hand’s nails didn’t necessarily dig into her shoulder but they did pitch into her, that helped her come back to reality.

“You’re okay,” the voice of the persons dragging her away spoke softly, as the disorganized feeling in her head drained. After a few more meters away Annabelle was slowly turned around.

“Are you alright?” The lady looked worried. Her eyes were striking, both of them shined a chestnut but her right eyes looked as if it was cut in two with a green. They were wide with concern even through her dark bangs that littered her forehead.

“I am…” Annabelle pondered for a moment, “I think I’m alright. Thank you.” She smiled at the stranger. She scratched her head and began to catch her breath, finally realizing she was holding it for most of the experience.

“It’s no problem,” the lady straightens her posture, she grew a few inches in front of Annie. The lady looked passed her watching the ‘man’ they had just left. She would see how long his hands were and how the air seemed to warp around him. It brought a shiver down her spine and Annie saw the unease.

“But are you alright?” Annabelle put her hand on the other’s shoulder noticing how pale she had grown. She seemed to be going through what Annabelle had just gone through. Annie wanted to look over her shoulder, she wanted to see what she was looking at but she couldn't do that again. Her stomach was still doing flips.

With a deep breath she put her hands on the taller lady’s shoulder and began to turn her way. Her neck strained to try to keep her eyes on Michael. Annabelle began to walk away holding the woman to her side.

She eventually tried to stretch her neck after a moment and somehow snapped herself out of whatever Michael had caused. She quickly brought her hands to her face and rubbed her eyes, pushing her hands into her hair with a groan.

“Something is oh so very wrong with that fellow,” she says defeated, “Sorry you had to see that.”

“Don’t be sorry you're the one who helped me out first.” Annabelle smiled at the woman, letting out a hand. “Annie.”  She waited for a moment before taking it, it reminded her or Jane’s hesitation. 

“I’m Helen.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was kinda hard to write because I wanted to for Annabelle, and I thiiink i did an okay job. Let me know how I can improve!

Helen tried to catch Annabelle up on what she was dealing with in regards to Michael. Annie could tell she seemed shaken up, her prim and proper exterior cracked slightly with the small tremble of her hand. They parked themselves on a bench somewhere many people could see them.

“I didn’t live anywhere around this area before uni,” she explained, “I was trying to get away from all of this, of him.” Helen explained the past few years.

Apparently she didn’t pay much attention to him a few years ago, she just thought he was someone new in town. But when she asked folks if they knew if there was someone moving into town no one knew a thing. She tried to push it out of her mind, but you see that didn’t work. She would see him out of the corner of her eye and on walks home from her job.

Michael never did anything malicious, he just unnerved her. Every time she saw him a chill ran through her spine. When her and her family moved house and he was gone for a while, she thought it was all over. Then he appeared as she was running to the store with her folks. 

That was the first time she froze like that, it was horrible. Like she knew she could move is, she tried, but all motivation was gone. She felt like she was falling into her own body over and over again until her mom snapper her out of it. She tried so hard to avoid him after that.

“I’ve never spoken to him, I think I’m scared too,” She shrugs trying to keep her fear at bay. Annabelle liked to think she’s a perceptive person, but Helen wasn’t all that good at hiding her emotions even if she was trying to.

“I don’t think he’s all that scary to speak too, even if what just happened was… unorthodox to say the least,” Annie puts a hand on Helen’s shoulder not really knowing how well to comfort her, “But I can say you two have similar eyes.”

A crackle of light seemed to dance across her eyes as something seems to click in Helen’s mind. The connection didn’t seem too positive in the way her face dropped and her brows furrowed.

“You… you’ve spoken to him?” Her question seemed to be hollow but grazed in mysticism. It seemed like she didn't even think he could be a real person other than her stalker.

Annabelle nodded, trying to read Helen. She seemed tired even though it was only the beginning of the semester, she has had much of this weight on her for a while. At least that’s what Annabelle can tell. Her put together air wasn’t too easy to see through but the out of place hairs and the wrinkled skirt made it prevalent to someone with a trained eye.

She thought to Jane, the two for them were kind of similar. A disheveled look but the meaning behind it was much different. She wanted to care, Annie could tell, but that might just be the issue. She couldn’t exactly but a pin in her yet but she likes how she assumed it might go.

Her mind jogged itself on the phone in her pocket. Helen seemed out of it, in her own world but not like before. Before her eyes held fear but now they seemed deep in through. She didn’t want to seem rude but she pulled out her phone anyway.

She assumed the unknown text was Jane, and a smile creeped across her face when she was proven correct. The techno-color worm was something she hasn’t seen in years, a strange feeling of nostalgia pricked her lips into a smile.

Flipping through her pictures for a proper response she kept Helen on watch out of the corner of her eye. Yes, the both experienced something really odd but it seemed to really mess with her. Perhaps she was overreacting but Annie didn’t want her to do anything drastic.

A quick hello text was sent before Annabelle got up, “Do you need someone to walk you to your next class or to your car?” Even standing up Helen was around her height. Why was everyone she was meeting today taller than her? She seemed to snap out of her mind. Relief brought her shoulders down from their stressed perch. 

“I would really appreciate that, Annie, thank you.” Her smile looked exhausted but her eyes harbored relief. With a goofy grin Annie loops her arm and offers it to the sitting lady.

“May I have this honor?” She asked with a voice as dumb as her smile. Helen lets out a sigh and takes her arm, “Where to my lady?” And they went off.

The two chatted on their stroll, casual pleasantries. Annie tried to change the subject from Michael, asking about her day or what she was going to uni for. Turns out Helen ties to keep her cards close to her chest when she can.

What she was able to get out of the secretive lady was she was going for a business major and her day was ‘relatively fine other than that issue.’ She was stiff to talk to, like a wall but it wasn’t made of brick, Annie can tell if she pressed on it long enough it would give.

She doesn't want to tread too heavily, after what had just happened she’s valuable mentally and if she seems to be too berateing it might turn out bad in the long run.

“So you recently moved to the area, yeah?” She asked on the way to the metro stop a block or two away from the campus, “How you liking it?”

“It’s not too bad, the shops have what I need and the cafes have some decent things for a quick bite,” her posture was straightening out and she began to look down her nose. Her whole heir has become so much more posh. “Normally I wouldn’t end up thinking of going to some of these places, but it seems oddly different than how I have grown up.” She seemed to reminisce slightly on her words. 

That piqued Annabelle’s interest, she’s going to tuck that though away for safekeeping. As the two of them approach the stop Helen seems to remember their arms were interlocked. She quickly pulled her hand away and crossed it with her own in front of her.

“Thank you Annie, this is fine.” She seems to bow her head slightly in gratitude. She posh cracked slightly like a chip on fine china.

“Of course Helen, get home safe alright.” Annie gave a wave and began to walk away.

“W-wait.” She called before Annabelle was too far off, she turned around a slight sprinkle of worry on her face, “C-can I get your number so I can text you if anything happens?”

She quickly makes her way back, snatches Helen’s phone, takes a dumb selfie and puts in her contact.

“Text me if you need anything!” She smiles making her way back to campus. She’s going to have a nice long discussion with Michael for trying to distort her

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep feeling bad for making y’all wait and I’m sorry about that! I posted my interpretation on the character designs on my art blog @toxic.clockwork! Thank you to everyone who’ve been reading! (Idk how to link on ao3 oof)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry thing one too so long!!! Writing block hit me until i did that Jane one shot that I posted. This is still kinda short but next chapter will hopefully be much longer because its gonna be hybrid pros and chat fic. Thank your for you patients!!!

Annabelle and Jane text back and forth during the lecture, both of them slightly dry trying to keep on their respective tasks. But the first text that Annie sends Jane gives her a solid smile when she checks it. The picture is a fuzzy brightly colored jumping spider holding a paper that says ‘hewwo uwu’. She snickered at the little dude, Gerard tried to peak over. 

Gerard knocked her with his elbow in jest but Jane nearly dropped her phone, she almost jumped out of her skin. Her breath hitched as she tried to calm herself down a bit, looking over to her seating partner. His face seems embarrassed and apologetic which is quite a funny contrast against his dark exterior.

“Sorry about that! You good there?” He asks in a tone to make it seem like a joke but Jane can feel there’s something genuine about it. His face looked passive but his eyes were clear to read. Jane let out a chuckled huff with a nod and picked at a beginning scrap on the back of her neck.

“I’m all good,” she said, putting her phone down and beginning to doodle again alongside her notes. “Just startled me.” She looked over to Gerard, nudging his arm right back. That brought the energy back up, not entirely awkward.

For some reason, the reason was definitely Annie, she felt so confident with trying to talk to him. Her nerves really calmed themselves when he wasn't creeped out by the sketch of him from anatomy, he actually complimented it!

Before the class started Gerard handed her his sketchbook and she thrummed through it. A lot of portrait studies, a lot of realism and more than everything there were eyes. They looked beautiful, in all of Jane’s amature drawings she could have never come up with anything as realistic as them. She thought as if she was to touch the page it might have been wet.

He could tell she was getting pulled in by the eyes, he quickly flipped the pages and talked about his other sketches to drive her mind away from the eye. Jane didn’t speak too much about her own work, but Gerard talked enough for the both of them.

Even once the professor began to speak he continued to chat. He talked under his breath just random chatter about his day and about his sketchbook. This professor was much more professional than their previous, her posture was much more rigid, her words more articulate and sharp. She didn’t seem to mind the small whispers coming from the go thing fellow even though she more than likely could see him doing so.

Jane nodded and hummed along with his comfortably one sided conversation and even piped up for a quip or two against what her anxieties told her. Maybe the caffeine in her system was making her bold? She couldn’t tell for sure as she sketched on the small margins on her new syllabus.

“By the end of the day we're gonna have an interesting tree’s worth of paper.” She said under her breath and bit her pencil. Gerard gave out a snicker, it didn’t seem dry but how quick it was uneased her. 

“We’re gonna have to plant a whole forest to equal it out, huh?” He joked, “I bet we can learn how to recycle paper.”

She tried so hard not to laugh at that. He said it so dry, so devoid of any joking tone. Gerard can definitely see Jane’s shoulders shaking with silent laughs. He appreciates her finding his dry comments humorous.

“Does my aesthetic make me that readable?” Jane asked with a small amount of tears prickly her eyes and she held in the belly laugh that wanted to come out.

“I think the flannel is what clocked you,” he shoved her in the arm she again, “and I did see that ‘uwu’ image when you dropped your phone.”

Jane would have instantly lost all composure and laughted her ass off, but the fact that this relative stranger saw her being an incompetent lesbian for a lady that she had only met on their first day of university flustered her. In perfect timing her phone vibrated on her desk and covered her flushed face.

Through her fingers she could see Gerard’s face trying to withhold a smirk. Their poor professor was half watching them the whole time and Gerard could tell it but he wouldn’t let Jane notice. 

“Don’t worry,” he tries to keep the amusement out of his voice, but it didn’t really work. “Your secret is safe with me,” he whispered, giving her a flash of finger guns.

Thank gods the professor dismissed class at that moment because Jane couldn’t hold back her laugh of obsertity and anxiety. Gerard gave out a laugh too as Jane clamered to answer her text. Now that made him bust into a solid chucked as she opened her phone and immediately put it back and and looked over to him for council.

“You’re useless,” Gerard says through his laughs and he picked up Jane’s phone to coach her through her texts.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying to make up for that writer’s block

“You act like this isn’t hard! Gerard what the heck!” Jane threw her hands up in frustration as the two of them walked away from the lecture hall. He still has her phone in his hands and his thumbs typed along the keys.

“It’s because it's not.” He holds her phone a little higher when she goes to reach for it back. It was kind of hypnotic watching his tattooed fingers scuttle around the keyboard, they seemed to be working too fast and too long to be sending just a text to Annabelle. 

She didn’t want to badger him but she did give him an elbow to the side and she tried again to grab her phone back with no much luck. With a dismissive shake of her head she trusted he’d give it back. Her hand found its way back to the scab on the back of her neck that must have clotted back over because her nails were able to get a decent hold on it. She doesn't even notice she picked it off until her finger feels wet.

Her thoughts weren’t spiraling but she was definitely falling into them. She was… confused? That was the best way she could describe it, not in a negative way but over all taken aback from today. Her first official day on campus and she feels like she’s started a whole new life. 

Walking next to a 6 foot something goth who is probably texting her research partner who is really pretty seems really out of Jane’s comfort zone. But then again this whole college thing was out of her comfort zone, she graduated secondary school and was more than ready to be done with trying to get further education. 

But this oddly is calming her nerves, having already created connections to people is not something she planned to have happen especially so quick if at all. She can’t really tell if she was on the course to being friends with these people in earnest but she was more than fine with trying. Being alone for so long, not having too many friends from before, just having a start with 2 people is so much more than she could have hoped for.

University was a place for people to get a hold on what they wanted to be in their lives, right? Maybe that’s exactly what she’s doing now, finding her way. Before she never really thought about how life was going to be as an adult but getting these little things makes her hopeful. Maybe-

“Yoo hoo, earth to Jane? Can you read me?” Gerard snapped his eyed fingers in front of her vision. She snapped out of her mind and looked to him quizzically.

“Oh uh… s-sorry.” She mumbled out, “did you say something?” She asked. He passed her phone back with a sarcastic eye roll.

“I wrote you a script and gave you my number if you need anything. Our uselessness cancels out I think.” He might be aloof but his jokes still somehow land. Flipping through her phone Jane gets to the ‘script’ he wrote out.

“Gerard…” Jane started holding in her laugh as she looked at the screen, “Why is the script ‘step 1) get text, step 2) send meme, step 3)???, and step 4) profit’?” She keeps her mouth in a tight line as she looks up at him, seeing him trying to do the same. They kinda turn into a staring competition to see which one of them would break first. Jane swallowed her laughter to try to add her own quip into the battle.

“Question,” she tries to keep her voice dry, “when I get to ‘???’ how do I get to profit or do I just pray?” Jane clasps her hands together and looks to the sky. With Gerard’s solid laugh Jane has won this battle of shitty jokes. 

“If you can pray and god will give you a girlfriend I will pay you £500.” He places a solid hand on her shoulder as he counted to laugh.

“I trust my gods enough, you better be ready to cough up that money!” She pulled her shoulder away from his grip with a chuckle and looked at the message she never managed to answer. 

**Annie :)** : Hey aren’t you in class? Pay attention nerd lol!

**Jane** : I’m paying enough attention that I need to, don’t worry :P

**Annie :)** : So I was correct that you are a nerd! Haha!

**Jane** : Okay rude but correct, at least you have a good project partner!

**Annie :)** : True, we should meet up again soon! What’s your schedule?

**Jane** : That would be great! Give me a second 

[picture attached]

**Annie :)** : Okay perfect! Does Friday afternoon work? If I’m remembering right we're both free.

“Gerard oh my gods, what do I do?” Jane says pressing the phone against her chest. Her face was bright red and eyes were as large as saucers. Gerard just jesters his hand out for the phone and she gives it up easily. 

“So a date huh?” He takes the phone and parks himself on a bench they had passed a few times as they walked and chatted. “Do you want me to say yes for you? Follow you with a fake mustache?” He mimed typing out a message but let Jane easily take the phone out of his hands.

“The mustache thing, maybe. But I don’t think this is a date? We have to work on that anatomy project, that will be all.” Jane said, trying to convince and calm herself down. “I’ve got this.”

**Jane** : That sounds great! I know a cafe in the area that has some way better scones than the library lol.

**Annie :)** : Sounds like a date!

When she sent the message she quickly placed her phone down on the bench and picked at the strap on her bag. Jane didn’t see the message that Annabelle sent but she was still blushed anyways. Gerard wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a side hug. He seemed to be a physical affectionate person, Jane didn’t really mind but it's just something she wasn’t used to.

Gerard raised his eyebrow and grabbed her phone to check the message. Jane didn’t snatch the phone from his hand so he quickly glanced at the message.

“Do you want me to read it to you or do you want to worry about it later?” The smile on his lips pierced his voice. All Jane could do was facepalm and give a little groan. 

“Alright then,” Gerard gave her shoulders a squeeze, “wanna be weird and people watch for art?” 

Jane gives a chuckle and pulls out some of her scrap paper and a pen, “Why not.” She sighed through a smile. The two of them leaned against the bench chatting about the people passing as they added ink to paper

**Author's Note:**

> Hi again, author here! Thank you for reading! I’m honestly quite excited to write this even through I do have slight dyslexia, so I’d things sound weird or off please let me know!


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